It’s certainly been an interesting week at Manchester United with Wayne Rooney agreeing his new contract.
At one point it did look like he could be leaving the club but all I can say is the end result was the right one for both Wayne and Manchester United.
He is very popular in the changing room and he’s a well liked person. He has made absolutely the correct decision for his football career and his life outside of football.
This club is set up to win trophies and we have done so regularly in the past 20 years. As a club we never want to lose great players, particularly when they’re at their peak.
He has apologised to the fans and everyone else connected with the club so we have to put it to bed now. While there will always be fallout from an incident like this, as soon as we get back to playing football and Wayne gets back on the pitch it will all be forgotten about.
The fans have obviously been watching it very closely. While the statement attributed to Wayne last Wednesday didn’t go down very well, we all make mistakes in our lives and we’ve all done things we regret. United fans will accept that.
He has always given 100 per cent when he has pulled on a United shirt, and that is the overriding factor. No one can doubt that he loves playing football for this club and I have no doubt the fans will support him through the rest of his career here.
It is forgotten about as far as the players are concerned. We won a game last Wednesday against Bursaspor and we have a game against Stoke City today. Our job is to go out on the pitch and perform regardless of what happens off the field.
As players we are a little bit removed from off-the-field matters. These things happen over the years and we learn to deal with such things. He wouldn’t have been the first big player to leave Manchester United if he had gone, but we’re all delighted he is staying.
When our top players sign long term contracts it obviously gives us a boost. Wayne is staying and now we look forward to winning trophies with him in our team.
The main thing is that after a difficult week the best outcome was reached for all parties.
England ready to host World Cup
I don’t think there is any doubt that some Fifa officials who vote for the World Cup hosts can be influenced in the lead-up to the voting process through five-star treatment; although obviously it’s totally unacceptable if any incidents of bribery have occurred.
Despite the recent allegations of vote selling, I have confidence that at the end of the day the correct result will occur when the Fifa executive committee votes on which country will host the 2018 World Cup.
England’s bid to host the World Cup is robust. This is a fantastic country to play football in. We have 15 to 20 top stadiums; there is a great transport network and wonderful facilities and infrastructure at the grounds, which handle 40,000 to 76,000 fans throughout the season.
Millions of fans travel around the country watching football every weekend. There is tremendous passion and our cities are full of hotels and attractions which can handle a big influx of people.
We are one of the only countries in the world that is already set up to host a World Cup – we could do it next week. And I think that despite all the negativity surrounding the vote selling allegations, England will stage the 2018 World Cup.
Aside from the stadiums, passion and infrastructure, the way England has dealt with racism and hooliganism should be held up as an example. If you look at England’s record of ridding the game of hooliganism in the past 20 years it has been fantastic.
Of course, there has been the odd blip, but if you look at hooliganism and racism among football fans in certain other countries in Europe it is much, much worse. English fans are often attacked in other countries because of their reputation from 20 years ago, but if you go to games in English football grounds you will just find great atmospheres, no violence.
England can be proud of the way it has dealt with hooliganism and racism in the game and Fifa should be pointing fingers at certain other countries in Europe.
Who’s the greatest?
With Diego Maradona turning 50 and Pele turning 70 around this time, I’ve been asked who I think was the greatest player.
I never saw Pele play so it is a difficult comparison for me to make, but Maradona was just incredible.
You very rarely see players with Maradona’s ability. Lionel Messi is similar at the moment but his legacy will not compare to Maradona’s unless he wins the World Cup with Argentina, which he is capable of doing.
Maradona is recognised as almost single-handedly winning Argentina the World Cup – excuse the pun. That is an incredible achievement, although Pele did something similar.
Pele’s record is unbelievable, so it is hard for me to say Maradona was better without seeing Pele play, but I find it difficult to imagine seeing anyone as good as Maradona. He is the best player I have ever seen in terms of his vision and dribbling ability.
Send your questions to Gary Neville to sunday@timesofmalta.com.